Tale of Two Tiggers
by Lucinda
Summary: Response to the HyperSpike Challenge: What happens when Spike has WAY too much sugar?
1. Way Too Much Sugar

Hyper Spike Challenge - as issued by Tazzy  
What would the Scoobies do with a hyper Spike? We're talking a two year old  
after eating all the Halloween candy, sugar instead of blood in the veins, five  
double espressos, hyper.

This can include any rating from G to NC-17 and cover any and all pairings. All I  
ask is that you let me know where the story is posted so I can read it.

A Tale of Two Tiggers

Author: Lucinda  
Rating: pg?, pg 13?  
Main Characters; Spike, Willow  
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from BtVS. Don't own the energizer bunny either.  
Distribution: WLS, Bite Me, SoulMates, WWW, YourMission  
summary: response to the Hyper-Spike challenge  
notes: Set in S4, so Spike is chipped. Willow is NOT dating Tara.

T2T..T2T..

Giles was horrified, and a bit afraid. Somehow, Spike had managed to send himself into a sugar-high, and as a result, the vampire was incredibly hyper, with more energy than that ridiculous pink rabbit from the commercials. He'd managed to have Spike help him rearrange some furniture, and convinced Spike to spar with Buffy, having discovered that Spike could do that without setting off the chip.

Buffy had collapsed in exhaustion after going through boxing, staff work, swords, and some basic unarmed moves. She was draped over his chair, still gasping for breath, sweat glistening on her face and arms. Xander and Anya might have had some influence on Spike managing this appalling sugar rush, they had looked a bit guilty as they had made a frantic escape from his apartment, Anya's hurried comment of 'Got to go, need orgasms.' had sounded a bit... off, as if it was not the real excuse for leaving.

Spike was standing in his living room, his whole body quivering with energy, humming some rock song softly to himself, his head bobbing a bit in time with the words. He didn't look tired at all.

What could they possibly do that they hadn't already tried?

"Wait, I remember I saw a picture of that bloody smelly demon in one of those books!" With that exclamation, Spike bounded towards the shelf of demon books, pulling a book off the shelf, rapidly flipping the pages, glancing bare fractions of a second at each page. With a small growl, he dropped the book to the floor, literally, and reached for another. "I know I saw that face, and since the Slayer can't look through the books..." Another old tome fell to the carpet with a thump.

Giles winced, almost physically pained by the abuse his books were suffering. Something had to be done about Spike. But what could they do? He was helping them, so they really shouldn't stake him. Buffy was so exhausted that she would be of no help, Xander and Anya had fled the scene, and he had no ideas. Who else could he turn to? He needed to find a way to protect his house from the vampire.

There was a tap at the door, causing Spike to drop yet another book so that he could dart to the door and fling it open. "Hello, hello, we don't want to buy any magazines... Willow! Hey, Giles, Slayer, it's Willow! Come in, come in, don't just stand there gaping, you're letting out all the watcher's carefully Brit-ified air."

Willow stepped into the house, her eyes wide and confused as she glanced from Spike to Giles, and staring with wide eyes at the pile of books on the floor. "Umm... Xander called and said there was a disaster? What happened?"

"Sugar frosted Honey smacks, with blood. And some of this honey-mead that Anya brought over to try to lighten up Giles... and two jelly donuts... and umm... some chocolate because there wasn't any cocoa." Spike was standing right behind Willow, still bouncing a bit on his toes with a big overly cheerful smile on his face.

"What! I thought Xander ate the last jellies... You mean to say that it was you?!" Giles voice was a mix of anger and surprise, with a hint of dismay. Everyone knew that the jelly donuts were his favorite.

"Uh-huh. And you're out of the little chocolate snack cakes that Xapper was hiding in your kitchen." Spike's expression was entirely unrepentant.

Willow looked at Spike, and then at the exhausted form of Buffy, now asleep and snoring slightly. "Giles? Is this the emergency? Spike on a sugar-rush? Umm, make that hyperactive Spike on a sugar rush? There's no big prophecy, no scary big demon?"

"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm very scary... I'm the big bad!" Spike's indignant comment was almost drowned out by Giles words.

"Yes there is! Spike! With far too much sugar in his system... I'm not even sure he'd bleed blood right now... probably pink tinted sugar water."

Giles dropped onto the couch with a sigh, polishing his spotlessly gleaming glasses yet again. "I assure you, he's been every bit as terrifying as a major demon or apocalyptic prophecy. I'm at a complete dead end as to what we do with him. I had him help rearrange the furniture of my house, and he sparred with Buffy until she dropped... and he's still bouncing like that horrible pink bunny on the battery commercials."

Smiling with relief, Willow patted Giles' hand gently, and spoke in a soft, soothing tone. "Don't worry, I can take the bouncing vampire off your hands. There's a circus down the street that will pay good money for him."

Turning to Spike, she spoke again, her voice sounding much more cheerful and enthusiastic. "Come on Spike, let's go before you break the Watcher."

The two of them walked out the door, looking surprisingly cheerful and bouncy. Spike looked very excited and leaned over to whisper into Willow's ear. "Really a circus? You aren't just teasing him, are you?"

Hearing her giggle madly in response, Giles felt a new terrible suspicion bloom into his mind. When he asked the question, his voice was rather weak, as if he wasn't certain that he really wanted an answer. "Willow? Have you been drinking caffeine?"

Willow stopped, spinning around to look at Giles, a wide smile on her face. "Me, drinking caffeine? You know Buffy gets all cranky when I drink coffee. But there's this wonderful thing they make for college students... it's called No-Doze. Caffeine and sugar in a neat little pill... we had several at my study group. Taste like peppermints. See you later!"

Giles watched as they left, the two of them whispering to each other and gesturing wildly. He suddenly felt the need to just go to bed and hide. "Dear God, what have I unleashed on this unsuspecting town?"

end part 1.

As the pair of then proceeded down the street, half walking, half dancing, and just a bit of bouncing thrown in, Spike suddenly looked at Willow, a question in his eyes. "Why does Fluffy get cranky if you have coffee? How can you tell the difference? She's always threatening to stake me..."

"She gets this exasperated look of annoyance, and tells me all about how bad for my system caffeine is... how it makes me all jittery and nervous... She thinks it makes me talk too much and faster. Then she says when I get all twitchy and jumpy she starts looking for baddies to kill, but it's just me having too much coffee, and we forbid her to kill the coffee maker."

"I didn't think Giles had a coffee maker." Spike had this calculating look now, one that said he was planning something.

"Yep... except that Buffy hid it in an effort to keep me from coffee... she said she put it into the back of Giles closet, next to a pair of leather boots and a pair of handcuffs. Why does Giles have handcuffs in his closet anyhow, and do I really want to know the answer... umm, never mind, I don't want to know... ever. Buffy only threatens to stake you because... umm... I think it's because you're a vampire." Willow's commentary rambled, her final expression oddly serious.

"Yes! I am a vampire! A big scary vampire with scary sharp teefeses... Wait a minute, Paingel was a vampire and she didn't go around threatening him!" Spike's jubilant shout turned into a puzzled question.

"No more Monty Python and the Holy Grail... wait a minute, you were watching the Holy Grail without me! I'm going to have to hurt Xander for that, he knows how much I love that movie! Was he trying to make Anya jump into his lap at the killer rabbit? When it came to Angel, Buffy lived in denial-land."

"It was Giles' copy. Anya made me turn it off when they showed up... scared of the bunny. So I had chocolate... and the jellies... and a few other bits. Can I help you hurt him? please? It's been a long time since I got to hurt someone... I can do those bloody puppy eyes..." Spike sounded almost gleeful at the idea of hurting Xander.

"So we can blame your sugar high on Xander and Anya... sounds good to me. If they're together we probably want to make him pay later, when he and Anya aren't... busy. I do not want to walk in on THAT!" Willow shuddered.

"Oh, bad image, luv! That's not even something I want to imagine... let me go back to thinking about pain for him... OUCH! I hate this chip... hate it, hate it... Can't even imagine a proper torture without it zapping me..." Spike's complaints faded into grumbles.

"I'm not... Not you're love, 'cause I think that was Dru. I'm not anyone's love. I tried to be Oz's love, but he left... Willow's eyes dropped, and she studied the sidewalk at her feet, noticing a little crack that lead over to the side, passing under Spike's boots and leading to a tree root to the left of the sidewalk.

"Don't love Dru anymore. I've come to the conclusion that she must not have loved me or else how could she have done all that? Slept with all those people... a Chaos demon, and a Fungus demons, for pity's sake! And that wolf had to have been a fool, running off like that... Wonder if I can think about torturing him?"

Spike's efforts to cheer Willow up caused a small smile. "If you don't love Dru anymore, is there someone that you love, or are you just sort of using it as a British 'hey you' sort of thing? What's up with that anyhow, luv and ducks and pet? It almost makes me think you have some sort of issue." She paused, looking around as she gathered her thoughts back from Oz and pain and loneliness.

"I do not want to spend tonight moping and miserable because Oz was a cowardly cheating mutt. And I don't want to think about Psychology. We are going to go see that carnival... although they were still setting things up earlier. Now, are you with me?"

"Sounds like a plan, luv. I'm with you... now on to the carnival..." Spike bounded ahead, resembling a tailless Tigger. "And I don't know where it is. Lead on."

Willow giggled at the expression on Spike's face, one of dismay and bewilderment, as he stood on the sidewalk, tapping his toes as he hummed some rock song that Willow couldn't recognize, his eyes bright with energy and enthusiasm as he scanned the street. "This way, it's over near the college."

Both smiling, they set off again towards the college, talking about carnivals and what they thought might be there.

"I know there will be games, with little toys, things like throwing darts and balls and rings... and squirt guns and, oh, if they have one of those strength test hammer things I bet you could win a big prize!" Willow's voice was almost crackling with enthusiasm.

"You bet I could! I could hit that thing so hard the bell wakes up the neighbors! Think they'll have the rides that spin you around in circles? Maybe the ones with the giant teacups to sit in?"

"Those always make me think of Alice in Wonderland... shrink down to tiny size... can that really happen? I mean, being put small enough to fit into a teacup?"

"I really don't know... If it's possible, it'll show up here, over the nasty Hellmouth. Dru never wanted to ride those things, said she was afraid that someone would drink her right up."

"Look, see! It's the carnival, and they have some tents, and the rides, and the little booths for the games... do you think they'll have cotton candy? And the supposed to be homemade fudge?" Willow's excitement bubbled up.

"Yeah! Hey, they're starting to test the rides! Maybe we can sneak in and slip on them while they're testing?" Spike's voice was filled with mischief.

"I have the feeling that's not a good Willow thing to do... sounds like fun. Got to be careful not to get caught though. Buffy'd flip..." Willow's voice trailed off.

"She can't. I wore her out earlier... No Buffy panicking and screaming and threatening to stake us." Spike sounded smug.

"Oh, yeah, she was snoring and everything. Let's go." Willow's smile was delighted.

end part 2.

It was simple enough to slip into the carnival grounds, there were no walls or fences to keep people out, only the darkness of night and tangles of cords and cables and ropes running here and there to trip the unwary. They were no obstacle at all for Willow or Spike. Wandering towards the rides, they found a booth with bags of cotton candy, although there was nobody inside.

"Hey, Spike? Does cotton candy sound good to you? All sweet and sticky and just melting in your mouth..." Willow's eyes had lit up at the sight.

"Don't think I've ever had any before... How's it go with blood?" Spike's voice was partly teasing, and partly thoughtful.

Willow giggled. "Silly... it's spun sugar, with a little food coloring. If you put it in blood it would just sort of melt away, and your blood would be all sugary. Here, lift me up, I want some. I'll just leave them... three dollars a bag? Isn't that a bit steep?"

"Pure sugar? Well... that would be different. Here, put the money there, I'll lift you up. I want to try this stuff." Spike put actions to his words, and lifted Willow up so that she could reach the plump bags of sugary goodness dangling tauntingly out of reach.

They ended up with two, one in pale yellow and the other in soft blue, both colors the soft pastel of diluted water color paints. Willow opened her bag quickly, her eyes bright with anticipation. Pulling out a handful of the soft threadlike confection, she bit off a chunk, her eyes lowering in pure sugar induced bliss.

"Mmmmm. Try some?" She held out another handful to Spike, as if offering some forbidden fruit, her expression full of amusement and excitement.

He looked at it for a moment, as if debating the advantages or disadvantages of tasting the sugary fluff. Coming to a decision, he leaned forward, nibbling the fluff from her hand, ending with gently nipping the last clinging bits from her fingertips, a smug smile settling on his face as he swallowed the last little sweetness. "Now that was good. Ready for those rides now?"

Willow stared at him for several moments, wondering exactly what had caused Spike to nibble the cotton candy from her fingers. Had he been merely pursuing the last shreds of sugar? Had he been nibbling what he could not bite, remembering his more violent days? Or maybe, just maybe, he had done it in an effort to stir something up inside of her. It was normally difficult to figure out his motivation, but right now, it was impossible.

Shaking her head, she nibbled on another chunk of spun sugar, wondering if she could taste a hint of Spike clinging to her fingers. What had he said after trying to shut down her mind? Oh, right, the rides. "Of course I'm ready for the rides."

They rode the giant spinning teacups four times through, only partly because they were having so much fun spinning the teacup around and tossing random literary quotations back and forth. The other part was that they couldn't sneak away until the operators weren't looking. They left the empty bag that had once held pale golden sugar behind, tied in a complex knot around the seatbelt, a parting gift from Spike. They were giggling madly, an image of Dru as the Mad Hatter looking at them all shrunken to the size of sugar cubes in the bottom of her tea.

With frequent ineffective shushing noises, they crept along the row of tents and booths, looking for the next ride to sneak onto. Finally, they settled on one that resembled a large octopus, with small closed bubbles at the ends of the tentacles, which would spin in circles while each main arm lifted and sank in an alternating pattern.

"How about that one, Spike? The bubble thingies for people to ride in are smallish and dark enough that they won't see us." Willow's whisper carried easily to the vampire.

Swallowing a mouthful of the blue cotton candy, he nodded slightly before realizing that she couldn't see him. "Are you sure it's just a ride? I'm pretty sure I saw something similar in one of Tweedy's books... I'm not going to feed myself to a giant land living octopus demon."

"Nope, not a demon. Too many cables and power cords... so, quick, that one right there before the guy comes back!" Her words were low in volume, but there was a great deal of intensity.

Sprinting across the grassy area, the two sugar fueled bodies were securely belted into the compartment and the door softly closed before the operator could return. Grinning wildly as they were lifted starwards, nobody noticed their joyful laughter as it floated away on the night breeze. Perhaps it went unnoticed because it was so different from the normal sounds carried on the night wind in Sunnydale.

end part 3.

They were both dizzy and staggering by the time the octopus like ride had halted long enough for them to make their escape. They made their uneven way into the group of games, looking at the colorful signs claiming that the game was easy, advertising a small prize for three rings, a medium prize for two small ones, and a large prize for two mediums. Many of the game booths were still barren, the rows of hooks and shelves empty. Others had clusters of animals hanging in large mesh bags, with little legs sticking out some of the holes and plush fur making the whole mass look like some giant fuzzy fruit collected under the moonlight.

"I don't think they're ready for me. Nobody's here to give me prizes." Spike sounded a bit amused and disappointed.

"Maybe they've heard about you and they're all hiding? People often seem to hide when you make your first entrance. When you crashed the Parent-Teacher conferences, I ended up hiding in the closet with Cordelia. It was horrible, absolutely the most horrible, miserable experience of my life."

"Red, you're babbling again. Wait, hiding in a closet was worse than when I kidnapped you and dragged you and Chubs off to the factory? Should I be insulted?" Spike sounded a bit indignant.

"Yes, three hours in the closet with Cordelia was much worse than being kidnapped. Either kidnapping actually. She spent a long time praying for God to get her through this because there was supposed to be this really awesome sale that weekend... Faith and the Mayor just locked me up, and there were a few threats of bodily harm. You threatened to kill Xander, complained about Dru cheating with a Chaos Demon, and debated eating me." Willow managed to sound as if being kidnapped and threatened was an almost ordinary event for her.

"Shopping? She needed to live so she could go shopping? Is she entirely daft? Wait, this is the same chit who's in Los Angeles now? The one working with Angel?"

"That's her. Apparently, she's changed since she moved to LA. At least, that's what Angel says. I talked him into giving me an email address to reach him with. I get an email about every week... keeps me up to date on what he's doing. I want to know if there's ever a return of the Angelus that we saw in Sunnydale. He was... scary and unbalanced and tried to end the world. Said it was a good thing that you used that crowbar, by the way, but it still hurt." Willow was studying her shoe, which had split along the toe, leaving a hole.

"He always has to have a high maintenance woman around... Next email, tell him I'll bash him upside the head with a crowbar anytime. I think he's getting masochistic in his old age." Spike sounded as if he was trying not to laugh.

"Maybe he thinks the suffering is good for his redemption. Personally, I think there are a lot of things he could do other than sit in a dark office brooding. Things that would be a lot more productive, maybe even help people. I think he's afraid to deal with people." She sounded almost distracted, as if the analysis of Angel's problems were simply a question for her psychology homework.

"Probably doesn't know how to play nice with others. He never had very nice motives in the good old times, when we were the Scourge of Europe... It was always killing and a spot of bloodletting... All sorts of things that he doesn't do with a soul."

"uugghh... This talk has gotten all serious and gloomy. I did not sneak out here in the middle of the night to figure out why Angel mopes all the time. We're smart... we've got to be able to do better than this." She had narrowed her eyes in frustration.

A grin slowly spread over Spike's face. It was full of mischief and a bit of wicked amusement. "Right... something better. I got something better for you... TAG!!"

Willow staggered as his hand pushed against her shoulder, the force of it causing her to take a few steps backwards. Tag with Spike? Tag, in the dark edges of Sunnydale, with a Master Vampire... that would be much more interesting than talking about Angel brooding in a dark room. It was also the sort of thing that she would never cheerfully agree to if it hadn't been Spike. Maybe she had a small bit of insanity, but she had stopped being afraid of Spike at some point.

Regaining her balance, at least physically, Willow grinned wildly, the sugar singing in her blood. She had a vampire to find.

end part 4.

She crept through the trees, her eyes bright and her lips curved into a playful smile. "Ohh, Spi-ike? Where are you? Come out, come out wherever you are..." Her voice carried through the clear night air.

A twig snapped behind her, accompanied by the sound of grass and leaves shuffling. There was no way that Spike had made that much noise, Willow was certain of it. She tugged at her sleeve, causing the small wooden stake to fall into her hand. Sighing slightly, she turned to see what was intent on ruining her evening of fun.

She recognized Shawn Westing, someone that had been a grade ahead of her, and actually in the computer class that she'd taught for a while. Except that she'd never seen him before in clothing that was torn and stained and had dirt filling in the creases. Long, dirt crusted nails that could pass for claws were on his hands, and hair was a tangled, tousled mess, with some dirt caught in it. He lifted his face looking at her, and she heard a small growl pass from his lips, coming around a mouthful of uneven pointed teeth, and he glared at her from sullen yellow eyes. Clearly, he was recently turned, either that or he'd become an extremely dull minion. He also seemed to expect her to be cowering in fear.

"You are not the vampire that I am looking for." Willow felt a bit annoyed, and lunged forward with her stake, a move she'd adapted from her fencing class, piercing his heart in a smooth, swift thrust.

He even had time to look up at her with stunned disbelief before he turned to dust. Willow paused, listening carefully for any other sounds. There was something, or maybe just a ghost of a noise that way. Still holding the stake, just in case, she moved towards the noise.

When did I start going TOWARDS strange noises in the dark instead of away from them like a sensible person? Do I even want to know what's making that noise? What if it isn't Spike? Willow had a number of thoughts circling through her mind as she approached the sound, as quietly as she could manage.

Creeping to the edge of a small clearing, she peered carefully towards the source of the noise, and her jaw dropped. Standing on a patch of stone was Spike, his duster dropped into a pile, along with his tee shirt. He had a pair of headphones over his ears, with the small cassette player clipped to the waistband of his pants, the dark wires trailing over his muscled stomach. He had his eyes closed, and was dancing on the rock, his lips moving and his head bobbing to a fast beat.

For a moment, all she could do was stare. He looked... amazing. And then, she recognized the song. He was listening White Wedding by Billy Idol, and could have actually done a good job impersonating him if he'd wanted to. Having finally closed her mouth and regained some semblance of control, she moved closer, a plan forming in her mind. Reaching out, she ran her finger up his spine, starting just above the waistband of his faded jeans.

With a startled yelp, he spun around, his eyes almost glowing amber, and his sharp teeth bared in a snarl. She couldn't help comparing him to the now dusted Shawn. Spike's teeth, while just as sharp, were more even, and more of a gleaming white than a dulled yellow. There was no dirt on his clothing or in his hair, and his eyes were filled with a dangerous intelligence.

Drawing a breath, Willow tried to slow her now racing pulse. "Tag?"

For a moment, he just stared at her, no longer snarling, but simply looking at her, his eyes feral and unblinking. Finally, he blinked, and smiled, reaching down to turn off his tape. "I'd almost forgot about that, Red. Why the stake? Didn't think you were that bothered by the sugar rush."

She blushed, wondering if he thought that she had been contemplating staking him. "Umm... actually, it's not always safe here at night. I met up with a minion a few moments ago. Used to be a fairly smart guy, he was in the computer class that I taught back a few years ago, but... He was standing there all covered with grave dirt. I had to stake him, and then when I heard another noise... You can't just assume that a sort of noise in the dark of night in Sunnydale is your friend, you know?"

Tilting his head slightly, Spike gazed up at the stars, his features slipping back to human. "Good point, luv. So, I'm it now? Think I'll wait until you have that nasty bit of wood put safely away." He paused, watching as she slid it back up her sleeve, as she giggled the whole time. "Much better. I feel all safe now."

"See? No more sharp pointy bit of wood for you to get stuck with." She held her hands out, showing empty hands.

A slow smile crossed Spike's face as he moved closer, his steps gliding and predatory. "Tell me, luv... are you ticklish?" Lunging forward, his cool fingers found her ribs, tickling fiercely.

With shrieking laughter, Willow collapsed to the ground, managing to drag Spike along with her. Frantically gasping for air, Willow tried to ask him to stop, but she was laughing to hard to form the words. Giving up on speech, she decided that the only solution was to tickle him back, and hope that he had a ticklish place somewhere.

As it turned out, he was extremely ticklish, and soon they were engaged in an all out tickle war, the question of who had been 'it' for tag entirely forgotten. Willow was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her face, and Spike's features had shifted again, and he was laughing almost as hard as Willow.

Finally, Willow gave a firm push against his muscled chest, separating them by a moderate distance. She was now safe from his twitching fingers. Gasping for breath, she managed to get out a few words. "No more... Human here... need air... remember?" She had ended up on her butt, the leaves and plants a slight cushion to sit upon.

"Well, it seems that you do need to breath..." Spike had managed to slow his laughter, and was settled on the ground as well, looking entirely comfortable. He reached for his tape player only to discover that it was no longer clipped to his waistband. He looked around in the leaves, glaring in frustration. "Hey! Where did it go?"

Willow closed her eyes, and focused on the feeling of spike, all cool and smoky, with hints of caramel. Reaching out, she felt several objects that held traces of Spike on them, and she tried to identify them. There was the pile of his duster and shirt. AHA! There was the cassette player and the long tendril connecting the headphones... she concentrated, lifting them up from the ground and floating them towards him. "Here... your music."

Taking it from it's position in the air, without any means of visible support, Spike smiled at Willow. "Thanks, Willow. You're something else, you know that?"

All she could do was smile. It felt so good to have someone thank her, even if only for something small. And he had a gorgeous smile.

end part 5.

They were still smiling as they walked back from the woods, occasionally breaking into another fit of giggles at the memory of the tickle-fight. They'd declared it a draw. Their game of tag had been forgotten, or at least dropped, although they might try to play again another time.

"Red? Think the carnival will be open tomorrow night?" Spike's voice was thoughtful, no longer quite as fast and hyper as he'd been earlier.

"Should be, it might even stay for a few days. You want to go back tomorrow, when we don't have to sneak around?" Willow looked at him, wondering what was going on inside his head.

"That sounds good. I'll win you some of those little fuzzy animals. Tonight was... it was fun." Spike sounded as if he hadn't quite expected to enjoy himself.

Willow smiled at him, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. "I've never had anyone win me a toy before. Nobody even tried. And contrary to a few suggestions, I can have fun on my own, it just isn't normally at the Bronze."

He nodded. "I know, I've been watching the whole lot of you. It's not like I've had that many other options for keeping my mind occupied. You're good at finding things to do, and solving problems quickly when time matters. Slayer's lucky to have you on her side. I'd have you on mine if I could."

Willow stumbled as the meaning behind his words became clear. "You mean if the chip went flooey. You'd turn me? That night in the dorm, did you really mean it when you said I had a choice?" Her gaze was fixed on him. The answer suddenly seemed very important.

"In the dorm? No, you never had a real choice. I'd already decided that I'd turn you, keep you with me. But then, I saw you as a translator and researcher, as well as a pretty face. Didn't have a clue how useful you'd be for tactics and planning." He sounded wistful, his voice making it clear that he missed the nights before the chip.

Oddly, she found herself smiling at his words. "Well, at least someone thinks that I have a pretty face."

"Red? I'm standing... walking here telling you that I'd turn you in a heartbeat and keep you by my side to devise plots to take over the word, and you're just happy that I think you have a pretty face? Maybe you need to sort out your priorities..." His words faded out, replaced by a big, wicked grin.

She looked at him, her eyes wide and amazed. "You've read the Harry Potter books? Oh, that is so... not what most people would expect from you! Just because I'm the research girl and the magic girl doesn't mean that I want to be turned into leather wearing skanky evil me. I've seen her, and it was a rude surprise. But I like the idea of being considered a valuable and dependable aide. Practically speaking though, you'd need a secure power base before trying to expand, and you'd need to deal with the immediate threats to your power, which would be Buffy... and I really shouldn't be trying to plan your take-over of the Hellmouth."

Spike looked as if he'd gone through grinning with amusement to stunned gaping. "You... how many topics was that? Leather? Skanky? Maybe I'd need some sort of tranquilizer to slow you down enough to listen to your plans..."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to babble at you. I'm sure Buffy or Xander would go on for a while about Vamp-Willow, and Anya might have a few things to say about her. Giles would probably just turn red and stutter into his tea." Her words were interrupted by a huge yawn. "ohh, wow, I'm getting a bit sleepy. Hmmm... You're still all chipped, right?"

Spike scowled at the sidewalk. "Yeah. Why? I'm not exactly looking forward to ending up chained in the Watcher's tub again. Considering how unhappy he was about those books..."

"So don't go to his place. We can crash at my... well, technically my parent's house. There's room, extra blankets for blocking windows, and Xander won't be there with Anya." For a moment, she let her mind wander, picturing Spike lounging on the couch, cheering on the various wrestlers, heating his blood in the microwave. She smiled slightly, at least she would have some company.

"Not afraid your parents would object to you showing up with some strange man at three in the morning?" He was looking surprised again.

"They're in Atlanta, so I really doubt that they will notice me bringing you in." She sounded almost casual, the pain of her parents abandonment long since faded from a sharp wound to merely a dull ache.

Spike shook his head, as if thinking unhappy thoughts. "Sounds a lot better than the Watcher's tub. So, you got cable?"

She just laughed, the sounds carrying through the air. "There's cable, there's even some tapes of wrestling. Any plotting to take over the world will have to wait until after I've had some sleep."

"I can deal with that, Red. No world domination planning sessions before five hours sleep, minimum. I can deal with that." He smiled, walking with her to her parents' house.

end part 6.

Willow was smiling as she pulled out the extra blankets for Spike to use to cover the window in hr parents room. She hadn't expected to have so much fun with Spike. But they'd slipped into the carnival, played tag, although not for very long, and had a tickle fight. The tickle fight had been entirely unexpected. When you thought about Master Vampires, you didn't normally think 'and he's ticklish along his ribs', but Spike was ticklish. And a good dancer. And he looked really good without a shirt... which she had actually already known.

"What has you all smiley, Red?"

Spike's voice startled her out of her wandering thoughts, and Willow could feel herself blushing. How had she missed the feeling of his attention focused on her? "Just... thinking about tonight. It wasn't how I'd expected it to be."

He was leaning on the wall, smirking slightly. "How did you expect things to be?"

She looked over at him, handing him several blankets while smiling. "I hadn't expected you to be ticklish. Or to like cotton candy. I had never thought about you dancing in the moonlight to Billy Idol. I had expected you to be a bouncing bundle of energy and enthusiasm, but... I hadn't expected... tonight was fun."

"Fun? Yeah... it was. But don't tell anyone about the ticklish. Not anyone, ever. I mean that." His fond smile turned into a serious expression, one promising pain and misery if she ever divulged his secret.

Willow was still smiling. "Doesn't fit the image of the big bad vampire? I won't tell anyone, living or dead, human or other. I won't write it on anything that someone else could read. It will just stay in my head, along with all sorts of other things that I've learned about life, the universe, and the Hellmouth. But I might mention the cotton candy. Night, Spike. Or maybe morning would be closer... sleep well."

Spike just sighed, glancing skyward as he rolled his eyes. "Thank someone for small miracles. I haven't got much of a reputation left, the knowledge of that sad little problem getting out... it would make me the laughingstock of the Hellmouth."

"I wouldn't do that to you. I promise. But... you're a really good dancer." She left the hallway, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Spike watched her retreat, a small smirking half smile on his face. His next words were barely over a whisper, and went unheard by Willow. "I had fun tonight too. The last thing I ever expected, but I did. Maybe I should get to know you better, Willow."

His final whispered words were not intended for anyone but himself. "I think I've overlooked quite a lot with her. She's not just a research assistant, not a pretty face. I should have known better from the beginning, otherwise why would she bother helping Buffy? She's something, and I want to know more..."

Spike shook his head sadly as he took the blankets into the room that her parents would have been using if they had been at the house. It had this curiously unused feeling, the decor nice, but lacking any signs of a personality. Her parents had never left anything to make the room distinctly theirs. It felt oddly like a nice hotel room, and for some reason, that made his skin crawl.

What sort of parents go away and leave their daughter over the Hellmouth? To give them some credit, they probably didn't know about the demons or vampires, but... didn't they want to have some input on their daughter's life? Didn't they worry about her being hurt or killed? Did anyone besides the Slayer, the Watcher and Xander ever worry about her?

As he carefully put the blankets over the window, he realized that things would change for Willow now. Somehow, he'd decided that someone needed to watch out for her, and he would be that someone. He would try to prevent anything nasty from eating her. He would be there to prevent her from giving herself over to despair and heartbreak.

As he lay down on the bed, he tried to convince himself that this was just so that he could turn her when he got rid of the chip. He tried to convince himself of that for a long time, until sleep finally quieted his thoughts.

end part 7. end Way Too Much Sugar.


	2. Return to the Carnival

A Tale of Two Tiggers 2: Return to the Carnival

Author: Lucinda

Rating: pg?, pg 13?

Main Characters; Spike, Willow

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from BtVS.

Distribution: WLS, Bite Me, SoulMates, WWW, YourMission

summary: the continuation of Tale of Two Tiggers: they return to the carnival, and this time it's actually open.

notes: Set in S4, so Spike is chipped. Willow is NOT dating Tara. :Words inside colons: are the other person in a telephone conversation.

T2T..T2T..

Willow woke up, her body feeling stiff, her mouth tasting that particular sort of nasty that hinted at lingering sweets gone stale. She stumbled out of her bed, grabbing a few items of clean clothing and simultaneously peeling out of yesterdays things while walking down the hall to the shower. Something was nagging at her mind, something that she'd forgotten, something important... She'd remember after the shower, surely.

Had she been more alert, the battered black boot half fallen into the hallway beyond her parent's bedroom door would have been a strong clue. It was something that her parents would never wear, and in fact, her parents weren't even in the state. Had she remembered that she'd brought Spike home with her, she probably wouldn't have been wandering down the hallway while stripping off her clothing. The idea of Spike catching her half naked would be... rather awkward.

As things turned out, Willow had remembered while in the shower that she'd brought Spike home with her, that he'd been still watching old tapes of wrestling that Xander had brought over and forgotten when she'd staggered off to bed. She'd brought her clothing into the bathroom, so she was actually dressed when she peeked out into the hall, seeing no signs of movement. In fact, she'd even made herself brunch and cleaned up after her cooking before she heard Spike moving.

From the sounds of it, he'd somehow fallen out of the bed, and was swearing in multiple languages about it. One boot tumbled down the stairs, shortly followed by the second. Then, there was a brief trail of heavy footsteps as Spike made his way to the bathroom, and she could hear him begin a shower. Willow smiled at the idea, almost amused by Spike's not so morning routine.

Spike crept into the kitchen, his damp hair having been left in unruly waves and locks. "Any idea where the other boot went? And... is there anything... bloodish in the house?"

Willow giggled. "Bloodish? As in not quite but sort of blood? I went to Willie's and got you some carry out, it's in the refrigerator. No wheatabix though."

"Ha bloody ha. But you got me... really?" He opened the refrigerator, half hesitant, as if he wanted to look and didn't want to at the same time. He pulled out the cardboard box, opening the flap slowly.

"Red... this... this isn't pig's blood. You got me... how fresh is it?" Spike held one bag in his hand, the tracing over the Red Cross label slowly, almost reverently.

She smiled, having figured that he'd be happy, but not quite expecting him to be this impressed. "Willie swore that it was absolutely fresh, barely had time to chill, blah blah... I figure at least a week. But, um, I figured it would still be better for you than the pig's blood."

Leaving him to enjoy his breakfast, Willow went to the living room, flipping through the pages of her psychology book. She could hear Spike moving in the kitchen, and the sound of the microwave running. Absently, she tried to imagine how her parents, both of whom seemed to try to be semi-orthodox Jews, would react. There was a presumably Protestant vampire in the kitchen, having blood. So very not kosher... and let's not forget that her parents still probably didn't think she should have 'boys' in her room.

The telephone rang, and she answered it, absently wondering who it could possibly be. "Rosenberg residence..."

:Oh, Willow, I'm sooo glad I could find you! Giles has this problem with all of his books, and he's sort of trying to have everyone help him fix it, which is just not right because I think we can blame it all on Spike! But I told Giles I'd call you and have you come on over and help fix these old books, and Riley and I are going to the carnival! Isn't that just so sweet?: Buffy's voice chattered over the phone.

"You seem to be feeling perkier, Buffy. Last time I saw you, well, you were collapsed in Giles' chair. Now, are you trying to have me take over helping Giles so you can go on a date?" She hoped that she'd heard a few things wrong, that Buffy really wasn't trying to pull what she thought she was trying.

:Well, I've been helping him for a while now. I had no idea how many really old books he even had! How many books on portents of doom does any one guy need? And I could use a bit of quality time with Riley. It's not like you have something better to do tonight...: Buffy sounded far too convinced about Willow's lack of other plans.

Willow felt something like intensified growling annoyance flash into her. "Actually, I do have plans for this evening, and my date would me most annoyed at someone trying to change things. Sorry." She hung up the phone, not wanting to hear Buffy trying to convince her that this date with Riley was really important, or to try to cover for the 'not like you have anything better to do' comment.

"Date, red? It's a date now?" Spike's voice was filled with amusement as he leaned against the doorway, a mug in hand filled with blood.

She could feel herself blushing. "ummm... well, Buffy was trying to have me go help Giles put all of his books back into order, the books that you made a mess of, by the way. And her reason why I should go do this instead of her is that she wants to go to the carnival with Riley, and she doesn't think I have anything better to do with my time. So I said I had a date... which you heard... and umm... I thought you wanted to go back to the carnival and have more cotton candy?"

Spike smiled as he sipped his blood. "You forgot the part where I was going to win you one of those stuffed animals. I guess that does sound a bit like a date. And I don't want Fluffy messing it up."

Willow grinned, her heart feeling much lighter. Spike wasn't upset, he still wanted to go to the carnival. Life was... pretty good right now.

end part 1.

"Not going to insist we go over and help Fluffy and the moron fix Giles' house?" Spike's question was almost casual, as if he didn't care if they went, but was curious how she thought of the matter.

Willow looked at him, a small smile hovering over her lips. "Nope. Buffy just wants to go spend time with Riley, like she's been doing all week. Let her be responsible for once. Xander helped give you that sugar that let you wreck the house, so he can help clean it up."

Spike grinned at her. "You don't think we should go 'save them' from their fate?"

Willow giggled, throwing a small pillow at him. "No, they've brought it on themselves... except poor Giles. Wait a minute... he couldn't handle Hyper Spike and fobbed you off on me! Let him pick up his own books!"

"You didn't enjoy my company? And here I thought you said you had fun..." There was a bit of a serious look in his eyes.

Willow looked at Spike, seeing just the faintest hint of what might have been uncertainty in his eyes. "Of course I had fun! Last night was just great. But... Giles didn't know I'd have fun. He just had a problem and expected me to solve it. And if things had been miserable, I don't even know if anyone would have apologized. I had been studying, you know."

"But we had fun. And you can study me anytime, Red." Spike grinned, a hint of predatory interest in his eyes as he teased her.

Eventually, the sun set and the pair of them set off for the carnival. Willow was grinning, her eyes sparkling and practically skipping along beside Spike. For his part, Spike had a small smirk, and he'd looped one arm through Willow's, keeping her close.

"Think we'll see the Slayer and her boy-toy tonight? Or will they still be picking things up?" Spike sounded almost content.

Willow looked at him, her eyes sparkling. "They'll probably be there eventually. She'll say she's going to go patrol, and then meet up with Riley, ditch patrol and go have fun."

"Probably right. How in the hell did she keep beating me if that's how she approaches things?" Spike sounded a bit annoyed.

"Because she has us to think about these things when she doesn't. And her mom hit you with an axe on parent-teacher night." Willow sounded... not quite smug, but certainly amused.

Spike looked over, tugging lightly on a lock of her hair. "What about your parents, Red? How'd they feel about Parent-Teacher night?"

"They were in Tampa, Florida, and had... well, a conference on Adolescent Psychology. They sent a postcard that said everything went well." Willow sighed, contemplating her parents. They weren't quite in her life, even when they were in Sunnydale.

Spike frowned. "Don't they care how well you do in school? Do they know you're attending Uni here?"

"Yeah... they were disappointed that I didn't go to Yale. As long as I get good grades and stay out of legal trouble, they really don't care. It's better that way, the one time Mom decided to care... Hansel and Gretel and MOO. It was bad." Willow shuddered at the memory.

Spike rubbed his hand over hers, keeping her hand in his. "I heard a bit about that, listening to Fluffy in there. She was going on about the perils of Mother-Daughter bonding. I... hadn't thought about how much time the rest of you spend with your family's. Joyce is a nice lady."

"Yeah, she's great. I wish I could have her instead of Ira and Sheila Rosenberg. Mine aren't here much, even when they are, and Xander... his family has issues." Willow sighed again. "And this has gone all serious and depressing, hasn't it? I thought... fun, games, cotton candy?"

"Parents... eh. Not for going to the carnival chat. So... Did you want one of those blue lions or one of the silly big eyes girls?" Spike seemed all too willing to let the discussion of parents fall to the side, and get left there.

"Lions? umm... The lions were cute, and there was something that looked like it might be interesting at one of the dart games." Willow was delighted, almost unable to believe that Spike really wanted to win her a prize.

"Then we'll wander all over, eating more of that cotton candy, and collecting a small army of toy minions that we can use to take over Sunnydale once you figure out that plan of yours. You had a nice long sleep, far more than four hours..." Spike seemed so cheerful, it was hard to tell if he was serious about taking over Sunnydale or not.

Willow giggled as she imagined herself and Spike, standing in front of a vast horde of stuffed animals, lions, snakes, dogs and those little power puff girls, preparing their minions of evil to march forth and conquer. "Everyone would laugh so hard they fell down helpless before us... Nobody would be able to resist out advancing army of fuzzy minions..."

"Yeah... I can see it. You and me, rulers of the Hellmouth." He grinned at her, still holding her hand as they arrived at the gates of the carnival.

end part 2.

It didn't actually take that long before they were inside the carnival, bags of pale blue cotton candy in hand, looking around. It looked so different with the throngs of people, even though many of them had probably gone home already, fearing the night without quite admitting why. Denial... it was an interesting thing.

Willow suddenly paused, certain that she'd just seen Xander. A few moments of carefully examining the elbow and shoulder and the partial view of the woman clinging to that elbow told her that yes, "Xander and Anya are right over there."

Spike groaned, a small hint of whine creeping into his voice. "No, not him and demon girl! I thought we'd have a nice time away from all those meddling friends of yours. They'll try to pry us apart and ruin the whole evening."

Turning, she looked at him in surprise. Had he just said that he wanted to spend the whole evening with her? "Well, maybe you'll just have to be such a perfect and fun date that they can't help but be jealous. And that will certainly ruin Buffy's night. And we can start on our fuzzy legion of doom."

"Our fuzzy legion of doom, hmm? Sounds like a plan. How do we send them forth? Where do we strike first?" Spike was practically bubbling with enthusiasm.

"Actually, there's a spell that... no, no, no! This isn't the right way at all! First, we gather the minions, THEN we determine the details of what we send them to do. If we don't focus in order... and I don't think I'm supposed to try to take over the world, or even a portion of it." Willow's voice had begun indignantly, and ended on a somewhat quizzical note.

Blinking, Spike murmured "Right, get them first, then send the out. Maybe that's been part of my problem all these years... Willow Lu..." He paused, remembering her insistence that she wasn't his love. "Willow, aren't you in a Political Science class? Doesn't that cover systems of government? Wouldn't a spot of small conquest and administration make a wonderful project?"

Willow looked at him, her eyes glimmering with questions. "Are you trying to lure me to the dark side?"

"Of course I am! Evil, remember?" Spike sounded almost indignant. "Besides, I think the plan has merit."

She couldn't keep herself from laughing. "ohh.... the fuzzy minions... imagine... someone writing up a report about it!"

Apparently the idea was amusing to Spike as well, judging from his laughter. "Right... the looks on their faces... and how would you slay one? Right... time to gather our minions of terror!"

"Hmm... dismemberment or incineration... and oh! Be sure to get a bunny! Anya's terrified of them, but everyone else will be so used to bunnies being cute and fluffy...." Willow's eyes were bright with mischief.

"Right, a bunny. Should we get any little hoppy frogs if they've got them?" Spike was grinning again, and bouncing. His bag of cotton candy had vanished, except for a little bit stuck just beside his lip...

"Oh!" Willow shivered. "No, no frogs. I... I'm scared of frogs. I don't think it would be good to have a minion that scares me."

"Scared of frogs? Considering what you do? Isn't that a bit..." Spike's words trailed off, as he looked intently at Willow.

She blushed, looking at her toes with great fascination, and mumbled something too soft and indistinct for Spike to decipher.

"What was that, Red?" He was grinning, a feral look of gleeful anticipation.

"I had a nightmare about Kermit the Frog from the Muppets when I was little. Twice a week at least, for a month. He was leading an army of frogs to destroy the city..." She was blushing, and scuffing her toe against the ground.

"How old were you?" Spike looked thoughtful. "What happened when... did you tell anyone?"

"I told my mom. She explained about how Kermit was just a make-believe character, and wasn't really real. Then she went on about how frogs needed water, and not the ocean. I was four, maybe five. It still comes back once in a while." She glanced up, peeking at him nervously.

Spike gave a small growl, and looked skywards. "Soon as this chip comes out, remind me to have a talk with her about proper parenting. And just remember... I promise to keep you safe from Kermit. And his slimy minions."

She grinned, looping her arm through his. Somehow, his growled comment made her feel better. "Thanks, Spike."

end part 3.

So, Spike set out to win Willow an armload of fuzzy animals and big eyed anime girls. Partly so he could continue the joke about their army of fuzzy minions for world conquest, and partly to see her smile. The games were actually quite easy for him, considering his vampire strength and that decades of violence had honed his reflexes to an amazing level. They soon had a good start on their fuzzy legions of terror.

And if by some fluke, she actually DID have a way to use them to take over the Hellmouth? Well, who would he be to complain? But it was a nice running joke. Especially since he had no idea how you could actually have them go forth and... well, move.

It wasn't that difficult for Spike to win the first prize, at the strength testing hammer and bell game. The prize he picked out was a large blue lion with a mane that was a mixture of blue and purple, easily the size of a Labrador. Willow had laughed at the startled expression on the man's face as the bell rang, and Spike had chuckled as well.

He proceeded to collect a few more, a snake in patterns of brilliant yellow and orange, something that they had finally decided was a bear in tan, and a floppy puppy that was white with black spots. Then, he'd seen someone that had looked half familiar, possibly one of the commandos at a game, and had insisted on trying his skill. Which was how he'd come to be in the middle of an intense battle, all the players valiantly attempting to control their squirt guns and be the first person to fill their container and send the little clown to the top. It was rather cute, actually.

"Willow? You're here at the carnival... I thought Buffy said you had some sort of study thing tonight?" Xander's voice came from behind her, slightly slurred by his mouthful of 'genuine salt water taffy'.

She turned, arms filled with the beginnings of a massive collection of fuzzy animals. Xander was there, Anya beside him holding a fluffy... something in orange. "Buffy said what? No, like I told her when she called to try to con me into cleaning up the mess you people let happen, I have a date. Here. To have fun."

Anya nudged Xander with her elbow. "Look at all of the prizes she's holding. Willow has more prizes than I do. Why does she have more prizes? And I told Buffy that her idea was selfish... She just wanted to be here with her date."

"ahhh... honey, I'll try to win more prizes for you. Wills? I didn't know that you had a boyfriend..." Xander floundered for words.

The bell on the game rang, signaling that someone's clown had reached the top. Willow turned, curious who it had been. Spike leapt into the air, one fist raised as his voice rang out. "YES!"

Willow started giggling, both at Spike's glee, the disgruntled look on the face of the person who'd come in second, and from the startled noises coming from Xander. They sounded something like 'mee buhh...spiyy... uhhh'

Spike claimed a fuzzy blue bear in a red vest and beret, grinning maniacally as he turned around. "Here you go, Willow. We got any of the cotton candy left?"

Xander's eyes got very large, and he took a slow step backwards. "Cotton candy? You're... he's your date? And you're giving him sugar? Man, oh man, didn't you learn from that last time?"

Willow smiled as she managed to pull out the remaining half bag of fluffy golden cotton candy, no longer quite as fluffy as it had once been. She also managed to pass the smaller animals into her backpack, still holding the huge dog and now the fuzzy blue bear. "Spike and I had fun. We figured what's the harm in that? But if you're worried... I promise to keep track of him and not let him take over the world without my careful supervision."

Anya frowned, sorting through Willow's words. "You mean he CAN take over the world if you're watching?"

Spike gave his most predatory grin. "She's going to be my master tactician. With her at my side, we'll be unstoppable! First Sunnydale, then the world!" He then managed a very credible maniacal laugh, the sort made infamous by Hollywood's depiction of evil geniuses and mad scientists.

The effect was a bit lessened by him grabbing the bag of cotton candy and taking a big bite of the spun sugar. Especially since a wisp of it was now sticking to his cheek.

Xander swallowed once, hard. "You're... Wills? Please tell me he's joking? This isn't Mrs. Donner's fourth grade anymore, you can't take over the world by subliminal messages in the television... You know that, right?"

Willow smiled, eyes dancing as she looked at Xander. "Of course I know that. Too many people watch cable anyhow."

Xander and Anya made a hasty retreat, whispering furiously to each other, occasionally glancing back with nervous eyes.

end part 4.

"You know that they're going to wonder if you really would let me take over the world." Spike's voice was low, filled with amusement.

"Yep. That's the whole point. Leave them guessing... But what would you do with the world once you became the new Grand High Poohbah, Ruler of all you surveyed?" Her eyes were still sparkling with amusement.

"You enjoy it, of course. Make the world your bloody oyster and all that." Spike looked at her, wondering what was going on in her mind.

She shook her head, taking another bite of cotton candy. "no, no. If all you do is sit back and indulge, someone else will come up and take the world away. That's why all the great empires of history fell, they got complacent, soft and lazy. Then, when a challenge arose, they got their imperial hiney's kicked."

He couldn't argue the historical facts. "Got a better plan, Red?"

Giggling, she looked at him. "You have... there's a bit of cotton candy on your cheek. And yes, I have a better suggestion. Conquer the Hellmouth, keeping all the scary types in line with an iron fist. Then, instead of trying to rule the world directly, you rule the rulers. If everyone answers to us, we still have the power and the fuzzy legions of terror, and someone else gets all the paperwork."

The image was amusing - their horde of toys menacing the United Nations, making everyone bow to their whims. He started to laugh as well, not the forced maniacal laughter, but a real laugh. "Red, you're one of a kind."

One arm around her, they began walking again, looking for more games, or more cotton candy. "If I just yank the chains of the world leaders, can I still call myself the Grand High Poohbah?"

The giggles intensified. "Of course... but we won't use chains on the world leaders... much too obvious. People would see them, and then look for the other end, which would be firmly clutched in your hand as you tugged and made them fall over while you smirked and laughed..."

"But wouldn't it look funny?" Spike couldn't remember any time in recent history that he'd had this much fun, not counting last night.

She looked at him, her expression filled with mischief. "Absolutely. But we need to be discrete in our world domination... that way, nobody will know it's us. Unless they trace the fuzzy minions."

"Who'd be able to stop laughing long enough to do that, Lu... Willow?" He had the sudden image of a group of vampires trying to track a wandering teddy bear. That big blue one with the beret.

"Well... oh, no. I know who it would be. Angel. I don't think he knows how to laugh, so the fuzzy minions might not be too effective against him." Willow looked almost serious.

"Swarm him with floppy puppies." Spike tried to imagine Angel mobbed by stuffed toys.

"Angel...puppies...ack! Bad memories, nope, not going there. Brings up the whole vampire Willow thing." Willow shivered. "Maybe bunnies and snakes. An army of giant teddy bears."

"Vampire Willow? You do know that's not something that just goes away? And you weren't... I don't know what you were that Halloween, but it wasn't a vampire!" Spike felt like his head was spinning.

Willow turned an interesting shade of pink. "Halloween... ghost sheet over some of Buffy's clothes. And as for the other Willow... it had to do with an alternate dimension. We sent her back. She called Angel her puppy."

"She...Angel...puppy? For the love of anything, don't go there!" Spike made a gagging noise. He definitely didn't want to hear about his Willow and his Sire... doing anything. Especially not that sort of anything.

Willow looked somewhere between embarrassed and offended. "I am not her! She wanted him, I don't! Not then, not now. Neither version. I like my men sane and non-brooding, thank you very much."

"Your men? How many do you have?" Spike had to tease her just a little.

"Umm... currently, I don't. But once you're the Grand High Poohbah and I am your Grand Vizier, I was considering maybe starting up a harem or something..." She was grinning again, that same one that made him wonder how much was a joke, and if there was any seriousness behind her words.

"Red, the last thing a sweet girl like you needs is a whole room full of shallow, pretty boys trying to twist you around their finger and stabbing each other in the back. You need a single very good... very bad... You need one person, as long as it's the right person."

"Spike?" Willow looked at him, her eyes now troubled. "Behold my staggering success with relationships. I'm starting to think my only option is to take over the world and have enough power that they can't walk out on me."

"Bah. Harems are trouble, you need to remember that. Besides, maybe you just... need a bit more time to find him? Have a bit of patience and all that?" Something about her distress was bothering him.

She sighed, leaning against him for a moment. "Maybe. Besides, I suppose a harem would sort of break that whole discreet rulers of the world thing, wouldn't it? And I'd have a bit of trouble finding places to stash all of them. Hmmm... more cotton candy? And something to drink?"

"You'll get another sugar rush going." He felt himself smiling into her hair.

"yay for me. I'll need it to carry all of our fuzzy legion of minions."

end part 5.

They were both rather buzzed with sugar, their eyes bright and everything the most delightfully amusing as they continued through the carnival. Spike was murmuring stories about places he'd visited, and how parties went while Willow listened. Her whole body felt like it was vibrating, humming with this exotic energizing mix of sugar, mischief, and magic. She could feel her smile, so wide that it pulled at her cheeks.

She kept glancing at Spike, giggling as she pictured him as the Grand High Pooh-bah, wearing a big fuzzy helmet with horns like in one of the old Flintstones cartoons Order of the Water buffalo. She could see that he was having just as much fun as she was, and he kept snickering at nothing in particular.

"Think we can put a tax on hair gel and that mousse that Fluffy uses once we rule the world?" His voice was full of a teasing speculation. "That would make her squeal."

Willow giggled, picturing the look of outraged indignity that Buffy would have if there was a sudden price jump in her hair styling products. "That would be discrimination... and she wouldn't squeal. She'd complain, and whine, and demand to know why the price had gone up..."

Spike leaned over, his breath tickling her ear. "That would be the whole point."

"This is part of why they say you're evil... and she's" Willow paused, frowning as she looked to the left. "Right over there, actually. With Riley."

"What? She's here? Oh bloody... she is here somewhere." Spike practically growled, his bows dipping a bit. "Her and her soldier boy? I haven't had enough sugar to play nice with them."

"I got a Snickers bar." Willow tried to dig in her backpack, a look of slight concentration on her face. "But I didn't say you had to play nice. I just said they were here."

Spike grinned as he took the chocolate bar, a blissful expression on his face as he took a big bite out of the candy bar. "That's right... I don't have to be nice to her."

Leaning closer, Willow murmured towards his ear "Hey, when we rule the world, we can send her off to somewhere far away, like Istanbul, which was Constantinople, now it's Istanbul... oh, drat, now I have that song in my head again. We can send her away. Far away. Along with farm-boy over there."

"How do we get Rupert to go along with it?" Spike's eyes were bright, although it was hard to tell if it was from amusement or sugar.

"Sleeping pills in his tea." Willow's expression was smug. "Or a sleep spell, or maybe just chloroform on his cloth that he uses to clean his glasses..."

"Oh my God, I can't believe your here with him. Wills, you told me you had a date, not that you were taking pity on the Bleached One over there." Buffy's voice was filled with annoyance and shock.

Spike glared at Buffy, one eyebrow arched. "Excuse me? You're calling ME the bleached one? You do know that your roots are starting to show? We all know this isn't my natural color, hell, I've never claimed that it was. But you don't have room to talk."

Willow looked at Buffy, and at Riley, who looked as if he'd love to have one of those Initiative tasers right now. "Why not be here with him? And it's not pity, I'm having fun."

"You are so definitely not his type Wills. He's just using you for... something. Some plot. Or a substitute for his loony ex." Buffy was glaring at Spike, clearly wishing that she could just hit him.

Something, some bit of rebellious passion stirred inside Willow. "Really? You don't think I could keep someone like Spike? Guess that means we shouldn't confess our secret affair or plans to run off to Vegas and get married by Elvis."

She couldn't quite explain why she gave in to her impulse, but later, she would always blame it on a mix of confrontation and sugar. Willow reached up, one hand going behind Spike's neck, and pulled him down, kissing him with a searing intensity. She could feel him go tense with surprise, before kissing her back with equal ferocity, their bodies pressed together.

It was a long time before the kiss broke, leaving Willow clinging to him, pulling in desperate gasps of breath while her head spun pleasantly. His words almost didn't make sense at first. "She's gone now... and I'll have you know that I don't want to be married by Elvis, too many bad memories. I'd want something with a bit more class."

"No wedding by Elvis? Okay... I can live with that." For a few moments, Willow tried to work out the logistics of Spike having a classy wedding. "Umm... outdoors, night time. Spring meadow with flowers? Wait, we aren't planning a wedding, we were planning world domination. Smaller guest list."

Spike just laughed. "You might be able to persuade me to go with a wedding, Red."

end part 6.

By the end of the evening, when their stomachs were threatening violent revolt at the idea of one more shred of cotton candy or morsel of taffy, they were also laden with stuffed animals. Lions, bears, dogs, little girls, a bunny, a fluffy purple frog that Spike had slipped in, a couple coiled snakes... they had enough that it really looked like a small army of fuzzy minions. Letting them sit on a section of grass, Willow surveyed them with a look of glee.

"wow... and to think before tonight I'd never had anyone win me anything." She smiled at Spike. "Thank you."

He grinned right back, eyes twinkling. "Welcome, red. So how are you going to get them all back to your place?"

"Magic, of course." She giggled, and whispered a few words, waving her hand over the assembly of toys. A faint shower of pale greenish gold sparkles reached out, falling over the toys before fading beyond sight.

Spike stood up, jaw slightly dropped as the toys moved, shifting a bit, as if standing at attention. The tail of the yellow snake was twitching, and its tongue was even moving, flickering almost like a real serpent's tongue. "Red? You... you really did make them an army of fuzzy minions..."

"Sort of but not enough for world conquest." She looked at him, smirking a bit at his look of glazed shock. "This spell takes some concentration, and it has a sort of short range, so no sending them forth to terrify and confuse people. But... Spike, there are just too many of them to carry! This way, they can follow us."

They began walking back to her parents' house, Spike occasionally glancing back at their trailing fuzzy legion of doom. He had this incredibly goofy smile on his face.

"We have fuzzy minions! This could really work." His grin faltered, and for a moment, his face looked an unhealthy almost grey hue. "urgghhh... too much sugar."

Willow gave him a weak grin of her own. "Yeah... I think no more sugar for a long time. Want to crash in the basement again? I can send some of the minions down with you, find out if they can do stairs."

"Sounds good. A nice basement, quiet, peaceful. With no sugar. And no Slayer." Spike sounded as if he was looking forward to the idea.

"Can't believe the way she reacted. I mean, what's wrong with you that a girl couldn't want to be on a date with you?" Willow felt so annoyed at Buffy.

"I'm evil, remember? Vampire, mayhem, violence? All that fun stuff? I'm the big bad." Spike sounded a bit defensive.

Willow waved one hand dismissively. "Yeah, evil. When has that ever stopped someone from getting a date? You have great cheekbones, lots of muscles, a nice accent, and you have a good look. And you're a great kisser."

"Well... I guess you got a point there. So, evil is a problem for relationships, not dates?" Spike sounded as if he was trying to pin down something.

Willow just smiled, trying to find the right key on a jingling ring. "I guess that depends on the girl. And maybe on the type of evil."

"So, a sexy big bad has a better chance than something green and slime covered?" He was definitely teasing now.

"Absolutely. Good night, Spike."

end Tale of Two Tiggers 2: Return to the Carnival.


End file.
